Intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence (INT) is one of the three primary statistics (Statistics — alongside Strength and Dexterity) that constitute a character's physical form. Intelligence determines a character's maximum Mana, drives the active rate of Meditation (the canonical mana-regen skill), and feeds the damage formulas of certain Magery spells. Intelligence has an unmodified maximum of 125 points (achievable via stat allocation + Stat Scrolls) extending up to a hard ceiling of 150 with item-side Intelligence Bonus modifiers. Intelligence is the canonical caster maxim — every Mage, Necromancer, Mystic, Spellweaver, and Tamer build wants INT at or near 125 to ensure a sufficient mana pool for sustained casting.
Primary effects
| Mechanic | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Maximum Mana | INT + Mana Increase (item modifier) |
| Meditation efficiency | Passive Meditation rate = 2 + (Med × 3 + INT) / 40; INT directly scales the regeneration speed |
| Spell damage (Magery) | INT contributes to the damage formula of several damage spells |
| Active Meditation success at low mana | Per Publish 46: "Players now have a better chance of actively meditating at high intelligence/low mana values." |
Intelligence Bonus (item property)
Intelligence Bonus adds directly to base INT:
| Property mechanic | Detail |
|---|---|
| Standard range | +1 to +8 per item |
| Hard ceiling on INT via bonus | 150 |
| Negative-INT items | Some equipment reduces INT — e.g. Orcish Machete and Evil Orc Helm both impose INT penalties |
Stacking 25 points of INT Bonus on top of a 125 base reaches the 150 hard cap — useful for long-spell-cycle builds (Mages who chain Energy Bolts) or Tamer/Mage hybrids needing both pet-control mana and casting headroom.
INT-affected Magery damage formulas
A subset of Magery damage spells use INT in their damage calculation:
| Spell | INT contribution |
|---|---|
| Magic Arrow | INT contributes to base damage roll |
| Fireball | INT contributes |
| Lightning | INT contributes |
| Mind Blast | Base Damage + ((Magery + INT) / 5) rounded down — the canonical INT-leveraged formula |
| Energy Bolt | INT contributes |
| Explosion | INT contributes |
| Flamestrike | INT contributes |
| Harm | INT contributes (and modified by distance from target) |
The formula varies per spell, but the pattern is the same: higher INT → higher base spell damage before Evaluating Intelligence multiplies the result.
Mana — the pool that INT governs
Per Mana: a character's max mana = INT + Mana Increase (MI) modifier from gear. MI cap from items is set similarly to Hit Point Increase — see the Mana article for the full mana ecosystem (Mana Regeneration, Lower Mana Cost, Lower Reagent Cost, Mana Vampire / Mana Drain interactions).
A 125-INT mage with a +25 MI suit has 150 max Mana. With Lower Mana Cost (LMC) at 40% (the canonical cap), individual spells cost ~60% of their listed mana, effectively giving the character ~250 spells worth of casting before drain.
Evaluating Intelligence — the assessment tool
A character with the Evaluating Intelligence skill can assess another character's INT (player, NPC, or creature). The in-game message corresponds to an INT range:
| Eval Int message | Target INT range |
|---|---|
| Slightly less intelligent than a rock | 1–9 |
| Fairly Stupid | 10–19 |
| Not the brightest | 20–29 |
| About Average | 30–39 |
| Moderately intelligent | 40–49 |
| Very intelligent | 50–59 |
| Extremely intelligent | 60–69 |
| Extraordinarily intelligent | 70–79 |
| A formidable intellect, well beyond even the extraordinary | 80–89 |
| A definite genius | 90–99 |
| Superhumanly intelligent in a manner you cannot comprehend | 100+ |
The 100+ message indicates an over-capped character (post-Stat-Scroll application).
Eval Int beyond assessment — the spell-damage multiplier
Beyond the assessment role, Evaluating Intelligence is the canonical damage-multiplier for direct-damage Magery spells — spell damage scales from 1.0× → 4.6× as Eval Int rises from 0 to 100. INT and Eval Int are complementary:
- INT raises the base damage value going into the spell formula
- Eval Int multiplies the resulting damage by up to 4.6×
A pure mage stacks both to maximum (INT 125, Eval Int 100) for maximum spell damage.
Stat allocation
INT-gain skills:
| Skill | INT-gain rate |
|---|---|
| Magery | High |
| Evaluating Intelligence | High |
| Meditation | High |
| Necromancy | High |
| Mysticism | High |
| Spellweaving | High |
| Spirit Speak | Medium |
| Resisting Spells | Medium |
| Inscription | Medium |
| Animal Lore | Medium |
| Forensic Eval | Medium |
A character can lock or atrophy their INT via the paperdoll stat arrows.
Build profiles
| Archetype | Typical INT |
|---|---|
| Pure Mage | 125 (capped) |
| Necromancer / Mystic | 100–125 |
| Spellweaver-Tamer | 100–125 |
| Bard-Mage | 100 |
| Tamer (combat-focused) | 90–100 |
| Pure Warrior / Sampire | 25–35 (minimum for Mana-fueled specials and basic Magery utility) |
| Pure Archer | 25 (low — Archery needs almost no INT) |
The 125 INT ceiling corresponds to the natural per-stat cap with Stat Scrolls at maximum tier (+25 per stat from Wondrous → Ultimate).
Meditation — the INT regen formula
The Meditation skill's passive mana regen rate is governed by INT and the Meditation skill itself:
| Component | Formula |
|---|---|
| Passive Meditation rate | 2 + (Med × 3 + INT) / 40 |
| Active Meditation (typing /meditate) | 2× the passive rate while concentrating |
| GM bonus | At Meditation 100, an additional 1.1× multiplier |
| Constraint | Wearing non-medable armor (most plate, gauntlets, leggings) disables Meditation passively |
A 125-INT GM-Meditation mage in medable armor has a passive regen of (2 + (300 + 125) / 40) = ~12.6 mana per tick, doubled to ~25 mana/tick while actively meditating, multiplied by 1.1× GM bonus = ~28 mana/tick.
Active-meditation low-mana bonus (Pub 46)
Per Publish 46, characters have a better chance of successfully active-meditating at high INT / low mana values. This shifts the meta toward draining mana to a low pool then meditating back up — high-INT casters can recover faster than they could with a passive-only approach.
See also
- Statistics — the 3-stat overview (STR / DEX / INT)
- Mana — the pool that INT determines
- Strength (statistic) — partner stat (HP, melee dmg)
- Dexterity — partner stat (Stamina, swing speed)
- Magery — INT-leveraged damage spells
- Evaluating Intelligence — assessment + spell-damage multiplier
- Meditation — INT-leveraged mana regen
- Necromancy · Mysticism · Spellweaving — INT-leveraged spell schools
- Stat Scrolls — +5 to +25 per-stat cap raises
- Publish 46 — active-meditation INT/low-mana bonus